Fallout from a loss of public confidence in climate science is affecting other fields of research, a top US academic claimed.

American opinion polls point to a general deterioration in people's faith in science, according to Dr Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences.

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It came after two major public relations setbacks for the global warming gurus. One was the "climategate" scandal involving leaked emails from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, which led to accusations that scientists manipulated and suppressed data.

The other was an admission by the United Nations' influential climate change body that it issued flawed data about the rate at which Himalayan glaciers were melting.

Two years ago the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that the mountain range could lose all its glaciers by 2035. In fact the claim had no valid scientificbacking.

Speaking about "transparency and integrity in science" today at the world's biggest science conference in San Diego, California, Dr Cicerone said there had been a loss of public trust in climatology that appeared to be spreading.